Equipment for making spongy rubber cushions or the like



E. H. CLARK Feb. 29, 1944.

EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING SPONGY RUBBER CUSHIONS OR THE LIKE Filed Aug. 2, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet l S a k WI: vNo

t P an NNQ Xh- RN tm v w E. H; CLARK Feb. 29; 1944.

EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING S PO NGY RUBBER CUSHIONS OR THE LIKE Filed Aug. 2, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 .l'llllllll .wg w- Q E. H. CLARK 2,342,920

EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING SPQNGY RUBBER CUSHIONS OR THE LIKE Feb. 29, 1944.

Filed Aug. 2,

1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 E. H. CLARK Feb. 29, 1944.

EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING SPONGY RUBBER CUSHIONS OR THE LIKE Filed Aug. 2, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Feb. 29, 1944. v CLARK 25342, 920

EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING SPO NGY RUBBER CUSHIONS OR THE Filed Aug. 2, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 [0 d/imy 422% g ag Patented Feb. as, 1944 ;,FFlCi-I tion of Indiana.

Application August 2, Serial No. 349,741 i 2 Claims. (01. 13-4) i through'the oven so that when the molds'emerge This invention relates to apparatus for vulcanizing and drying, rubber articles, especially foam rubber articles. i I One of the principal "objects is'to provide anparatus which will automatically convey a'large 1 number of such articles first through a vulcanizing oven and next through a" dryer, at "such a speed that a single passage-through botli the "oven'andthadryer is 'sufll'cient,"each article being thoroughly cured before it enters the 'd'r'yer'and being "dry according to commercial standardsbe fore it *is discharged from the dryer. Other objectsare to provide apparatus of; the character indicated which has a large production capacity, which may be regulated and adjusted to meet different demands of the factory'and the varying requirements of different products, which may subjectthe articles to dlifer'entftemperatures in difierent zones of the oven, which makes possible almost perfect control ofthe air'currents used for heating, which is adaptable to line'iproduction methods and, which occupies relatively little floor space. Further objects will be understood from the following description of one embodiment of the inventionshown in the accompanyin draw- In said drawings- Fig. 1 is a top plan 7 and conveyors and other details; Fig. 2 isa yiew inside (elevation;

"3+3 ofFigl l; g

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic horizontal longitudinal section showing particularly theheat'ing 'zones of I the vulcanlzing'oven; I I

Fig. 51s a vertlcalse ction on line5j5or Fig; 3 and on the same scale;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on" line 6-6 of yiew omitting certain hoists Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section on line from the discharge opening or end I 1 of the oven,

the foam rubberiw'illbe completely cured'and ready for stripping from the molds. Anoth'erconveyor-then moves the foam rubber articles very slowly through the'dryer, so thatfthe'y emerge dry according'to commercialstandards and ready for finishing processes.- In accordance with themvention, thevulcanizing' oven or compartment-l5 is built something like'a tunnel, and forconvenience in handling the molds when stripping and pouring, the dischargeopening orend' ll orthe tunnel-like oven faces the receiving opening or end l8, and these ends are spaced} apart only'iarf enough toafiordroom forthe work tobe described. Adjacent the receiving en'd18 the oven :has a partly circularportion- 19 61 12; 1) which leads into astraight, elongated ortion-2o,

' which in turn leads into thereturn' b'end" portion 2 I. Finally a' straight portion flfparalleltdhhd I alongside-straight portion20, terminates in the Fig. 6; and Fig. 11-is Fig. 6.

Referring particularly to said drawings, my

vulcanizing oven or compartment'li which has 2"8. dryer l6 arranged on top thereof, is provided with a suitable conveyor to move a, series of molds,

a vertical section on' line' l'il l' 'of discharge' end' 1]. A pallet type of""conveyor traverses the entire length of the oven and "extends also between thedischarge end-l1 and the" receiving end l8, forming in 'efiecta complete I oi-continuous loop of flexibly coupled palletsiii 'each having wheels523- adapted to roll overtr'ack.

A chainor other power driven'meansfnot shown) causes the continuous loop or train of pallets tomove ata v'eryslow speed around'the track; the speed beingcon-trollable so that the molded article will-remain in the oven the length of time required for curing. on each of the pale lets or platforms 23-a-mold pan 25 is laid immediately before'pouring the foam rubber R; 'Following pouring, the mold is completed by lowering'; the coreand plate assembly 28," which rests I on the mold 25 with thecores 'projectinginto the i mold cavity as shown in Fig; Bland then the filled mold enters the oven-,-'remaining on its pallet until the completely curedarticle is stripped from the .-mold beyond the "dischargeiendl 'l. r

To insure theyapplication of heat to the top, sides and bottom of each mold so that the "cure may be uniform and within the tim' cycleofthe I pallet :conveyor,;heat is brought to the molds by currents of hottair.whose' forceas well-as temperature; are carefull controlled; 1 Furthermore the. oven-is divided into/zones (Fig.4) each of awhlch may be heated to and'maintained at acertain'temperature, and the temperatures ofthe difierent zones may differ quitemarkedly. Ifrthe molded articles are rather large, as for example seat cushions, mattresses or the like, the time each containing uncured foam rubber, very slowly as of the cure may be two hours or more, ata temperature of approximately 220 F. Steam is preferably introduced into the circulating hot air to facilitate penetration of heat into the rubber.

As shown in Fig. 4, each of the nine zones, into which the oven is divided is individually heated by controlled air currents as will be described. and each zone has its own individual heater unit 21. As appear from Figs. 7 and 9, each heater unit 21 comprises a casing 28 housing four blowers 29 all mounted on a shaft 30 driven by a motor 3|, preferably a variable speed motor. The intake or suction is through the bottom of the unit (which is connected with the interior of the oven as will be described) and the air drawn in through the bottom is heated by passing over steam coils 32 before being blown out through ducts 33, 3|, I and 36 by the blowers 29. The heat radiated by coils 32 is of course regulated by means of a steam throttling valve not shown. A suction by-pass 31 in the side of casing 28 is controlled by vanes 3|, It, vane 38 automatically opening the by-pass and simultaneously vane lt partly closing the draft over the steam coils, thereby introducing unheated air into the system when the air discharged into the oven is above the desired temperature as determined by a thermostat not shown. The by-pass I1 is normally closed if the hot air blast-ifs at or below the temperature setting of the thermostat. Further details of the heater unit are not shown or described as such units are well known and the particular construction thereof forms no part of the present invention.

Within the oven II a pressure chamber ll is provided, preferably at the top of the oven and extending along the entire length thereof, a horizontal partition ll dividing of! the pressure chamher from the vulcanizing zones or the oven. The pressure chamber ll is divided into sections corresponding to the zones of Fig. 4 and each section directly connected with the discharge ends of the two central ducts 33, ll of the respective unit heater 2'! so that the blasts of hot air from both of said ducts are received within the pressure chamber section and build up the pressure necessary to compel the hot air to descend into the vulcanizlng zones. To control the flow of hot air from the pressure chamber to the zones below, partition 4| is shown provided with a series of elongated slots 42 (Figs. 3 and 7) extending crosswise of the oven, and a series of flat metal strips 43, each secured by bolts 44 (passing through adjustment slots, not shown) provide means for varying the effective areas'of slots 42, thereby permitting regulation of the flow of hot air out of pressure chamber II. Thus the volume of air supplied to the diflerent zones may be varied by regulating the speed of the respec tive motor II and the openings of the slots 42 and the temperature at diii'erent zones may be varied considerably by appropriate thermostat settings of the diilerent unit heaters.

As shown in Figs. 3, 'l, and 8. the discharge ducts II, 38 from each heater t7 bend downwardly and extend to the bottom'oi the oven where openings 41, ll respectively are provided to admit inward extensions 35'. 36" of duct; ll.

3|, said inward extensions terminating in lower 7o charge end I] of the oven are placed on dryer pressure chambers ll, ill which are separate from each other and are directly under the pellets conveying the molds. In fact the track 24 may be supported on the tops of the lower pressure chambers. as shown in Fig. 3. A series of elon- (Figs. 6 and 7) in the top wall of each pressure chamber 49 and El and adjustable sheet metal strips 52, similar to strips 43, have bolts 52 passing through adjustment slots 52'' (Fig.

6 and provide means to adjust the openings of slots l0 and each heater unit discharges about half its heated air into the upper pressure chamber ll ofthe respective zone and the other half of the air supply in equal quantities into the two lower Pressure chambers 4! and ill of that zone. Extending along opposite sides of the pressure chamhere 49 and 50 are suction chambers 8| which extend upwardly above the top of the pressure chambers 49 and 50 so as to confine the heated air from the latter chambers sufliciently to cause it to be directed against the bottom of the pallets 23 which are slotted, perforated, or otherwise formed to permit tree passage of the air therethrough against the bottom of the molds which preferably rest on spacers 54 on the tops of the g5 pallets 23. From the bottoms of the molds 25 the heated air is deflected laterally toward each side of the tunnel or oven over the tops of the suction chambers 6|.

Asshown in Figs. 3 and 8 each heater unit has so an intake 55 which is open to a suction duct I extending along the bottom of the oven on the near side, and is connected by a cross duct 51 with the suction duct 6| on the opposite side. Cross duct 51 extends between and separates the 85 two lower pressure chambers 49, ill (Figs. 6 and 8), which are interposed between the suction.

ducts 6|. With the above construction, the heated air supplied from the top pressure chamber ll will be discharged downwardly against the top of the mold and along the sides thereof while the heated air from the lower pressure chambers 49 and 50 will be directed against the bottom of the mold and laterally therefrom toward each side oi the oven where it is collected by the suction ducts CI for return to the respective air circulating unit 21.

To withdraw the air substantially uniformly along the length of each suction duct II, each of these ducts is provided along the top thereof with two endwise adjoining slots 59 forming substantially a continuous opening throughout the length of the respective duct ii and each slot 59 is tapered so that the slots 59 are wider at their outer ends remote from the suction intake 0! the unit heater 2! and are narrower at their inner adjoining ends. Metal strips 63, secured by adjustment bolts 05 passing through adjustment slots 66 (Fig. 11) provide adjustable dampers for the tapered slots 59.

Mounted on the top wall ii of the oven and extending for the greater part of the length of the straight portion 2! of the oven is the dryer ll, Figs. 1 and 2.. The dryer l6 isan oven having a straight tunnel-like structure, open at both 55 ends, with its receiving end Il not far from the receiving end ll of the oven and its discharging end ll extending beyond the return bend portion II o! the oven. The cured foam rubber articles stripped from molds 2! beyond the'dispans 12 carried by an endless dryer conveyor which extends throughout the length of dryer l8, and are carried very slowly through the dryer, being subjected therein to circulating air at a gated, laterally extending slots 5| are provided suitable p re to dry the rubber articles in their passage through the dryer l8. At the portions, and 22 of the oven and returns the drying pans tothe stripping station (Fig.1). Standing next to the roller conveyor 13 are operators who lift the :drycushions off the pans and load them onto trucks (not shown) to be carted away for finishing operations. The conveyor ll of course travels at the same speed as the dryer conveyor, which will now be described. The dryer conveyor comprises two endless chains 15 (Figs. 3 and 5) with cross slats 16 which support the pans l2 and said chains, which are mounted in the usual manner on sprockets and operated in any convenient manner, have rollers ll which travel on tracks 18 carried by the top wall l5 of the oven, which forms the bottom of the dryer. At each end of the dryer these chains 15 pass through the top wall l5 so that the return lengths thereof are under said wall at the top of the pressure chamber 48 which is provided with return tracks 19 therefor. Conveyor 14 may be exactlylike the dryer conveyor, except that it is shorter, and may be supported in the same manner, and hence requires no further description.

Mounted on top of the dryer l6 are a series of insulated pent-houses 8| (Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5) each of which is open at one end as at 82 to admit atmospheric air. A blower 83 drivenby a motor-84 sucks air through intake 82 and blows it through a unit heater 85 and discharges it into the dryer I8. Each pent-house 8| is essentially a hot air duct and intake, and there will be as many such pent-houses as are found necessary to maintain the required air circulation and temperature in the interior of the dryer. At the end opposite intake 82, each pent-house is curved downwardly as shown in Fig. 3, and the downcurved end discharges through an opening 88 in top wall 81 of the dryer, thus forcing a controlled volume of hot air into the top of the dryer. A slotted-or perforated and curved baille 88 below opening 88 provides what is-in effect a low pressure chamber 89 in one corner and extending a substantial distance along dryer at each Side of the pent-house as shown in Fig. 1 to distribute the air from the blower along the dryer. The shape and location of baffles 88 are such that they direct the heated air directly against the foam rubber article R, and thesehot air currents swirl all around and through the body of the article and abstract nearly all of its moisture during the time the article moves through the dryer.

In the operation of this apparatus, assuming dc which is usually llftedout ofthe mold 25 with the core assembly, is stripped from the latter after which the core assembly is furtherlifted by means of the hoistand placed in the tank 88 so that the cores extend into the hot water. This. hoist (not shown) may be carried on a monorail 9| to operate atthe stripping station andover the hot water tank and at the loading station. The molds 25 remain on the pallets 23 and the pans l2 maybesupported on these molds for conveyance to the place where the vulcanized articles are introduced into the dryer l8. Assuming therefore that a pan ]2 irom the conveyor ll has been placed on the molds 25 immediately ahead of the mold 25 from which the molded article is removed as aforesaid, the molded article when stripped from the core assembly 26 will be placed on that pan and will continue therewith under the hot water tank 90 andasit emerges from thereunder the pan 12 and its molded article will be lifted from the pallet conveyor and placed on the conveyor 'I5-'-l5 at the entrance III to the dryer l5. 1

Then as each mold 25 passes beyond the hot water tank 88 and the pan 12 and molded article removed therefrom, such mold is filled to the required extent with the foam rubber, after which a core assembly 28, heated to the proper temperature in the hot water bath 88, is removed from the latter and placed on the foam fiiledmold which then enters and passes through the vulcanizer l5.

Thus the molds are continuously supplied to the loading station and there filled and closed with the core assembly and then passed successively through the vulcanizer l5, to the stripping station where the molded article is removed," the molds passed on to the loading station and the core assemblies treated in the heater tank 90 after whichjthese molds are filled and supplied with core assemblies and carried through the vulcamizer l5. again. I

At the same time the vulcanized articles on the pans 12 are being propelled through the dryer l6 at a corresponding rate sothat as each vulcanized articleemerges from the vulcanizer outlet II a Y dried article will have beenremoved from a pan 12 at the discharge end of the dryer and the pan supplied by the conveyors 13 and II to the strip,- ping location ready for reuse as the articles are stripped from the molds 25 or core assemblies. 26.

that a mold 25 is in place on a pallet 23 ahead I of the entrance or receiving end 18 of'the oven,

the foam rubber will be poured into the open mold pan and then the core assembly 25, which has been pre-heated in an elevated tank 90 (Figs.

1 and 2), containing hot water, will be lowered by a hoist (not shown) upon the open mold. All this takes place while the pallet, as part of the continuously moving oven conveyor, slowly progresses toward the open mouth of the oven. The

pallet now moves into and through the oven as already described and emerges at the discharge end I1. At the same time a drying pan I2 is delivered at'the discharge end of the conveyor I4, which of course is elevated relative to the pallet conveyor. The mold 25 on the pallet under consideration is now opened, the core assembly 26 being hoisted therefrom, and themolded artidischarging the same after completion of the curing process; a continuous pallet conveyor traversing the vulcanizing oven; a drying oven on top of one side of the flattened loop, said drying oven being straight and open at both ends: the receiving end of the drying oven being-between said separated ends of the vulcanizing oven but to one side of the discontinuous section of the vulcanizing oven; an endless conveyor having its upper length in the bottom of the drying oven and its lower length, in the top of the vulcanizing oven, and adapted to carry articles at slow speed through the drying oven; and an endless conveyor having its upper length on top of the vulcanizing oven parallel to and alongside the drying oven, and its lower length inside of the vulcanizing oven at the top, said last named conveyor being adapted to receive drying forms from the discharging end of the dry ng oven and to convey said forms toward the receiving end of the drying oven.

2. In combination with a vuleanizing oven, a drying oven on top of the vulcrmizing oven, an endless conveyor which has its upper length in the bottom of the drying oven and which has its lower length in the top of the vulcanizing oven; and separate independently operated means to blow heated air into both ovens.

EDWARD HARDING CLARK. 

